Too Late to Break My Heart
by writteninhaste
Summary: One-shot. How would you feel if you found out from the grapevine that you'd missed your chance? Inspired by the end scene of Damaged. Morgan/Garcia and Garcia/Kevin.


**Too Late To Break My Heart**

Bag slung over his shoulder, Derek sauntered into the bull-penf, smirking slightly when he saw Reid sat at his desk, file balanced precariously in his lap. The young, coffee-addicted genius swivelled to face the team as they filed in behind Morgan, fanning out in a semi-circle.

Placing his bag on his desk, Morgan quizzed Reid about his time in Connecticut. The explanation was cut short however, when Reid drew Rossi's attention. "Sir? There's somebody waiting for you in your office." He motioned vaguely with one hand and the team's attention was drawn to the figure of Kevin Lynch standing in Rossi's doorway.

"Agent Rossi," Kevin said, nerves evident in the tone of his voice, "we need to talk. About Penelope?" The team watched, with a mixture of amusement and confusion, as Rossi acquiesced to the Kevin wish to talk 'man-to-man' and followed the technical analyst into his office.

Prentiss looked in confusion to her fellow BAU members, lips pursed as she tried to puzzle out the events unfolding before her. Derek, on the other hand, simply watched Rossi's retreating back, forehead furrowed in thought.

without tearing his gaze away from his superior's closed office door, Morgan posed the question they had all been thinking.

"What about Penelope?" he asked. Though his tone was calm, that of a curious yet indifferent inquirer, his mind was in turmoil. Had something happened? Was Garcia in trouble? Why did Lynch and Rossi need to talk 'man-to-man'?

JJ was grinning like the cat who ate the canary as she spun on her heel to head back towards her own office. "Garcia and Kevin sitting in a tree…" she sang, her voice softly lilting so only the team could hear.

With those words, Morgan felt as though his world had crashed down around his ears. He heard himself contest the statement, but he was barely thinking of what he was saying. His mind was in turmoil. He vaguely registered Reid's confusion and Emily's gleeful expression before he turned and strode purposefully out of the bull-pen. Behind him, the voices of his co-workers faded to indistinguishable murmuring. He ignored the people around him as he headed towards the office of the BAU's own technical analyst.

Knocking, he barely waited for the cheerful "come in" before opening the door. Garcia spun around in her chair to see who her visitor was, her face lighting up when she saw Derek leaning against the door-jam.

"Well hello, gorgeous. When did you get in?"

Ignoring the question, Derek jumped straight in. "Baby-girl, you didn't tell me you were dating Kevin Lynch." He said. He immediately regretted his accusatory tone as the colour drained from Penelope's cheeks and her face fell.

"JJ told you?" she breathed.

"Well yeah," Morgan said, tone softer this time, "but only after we saw Lynch waiting to talk to Rossi."

If possible, Garcia's face became even paler. "He…But…Why?" she asked eventually, staring at Morgan as if hoping he would provide an answer.

Derek opened his mouth to say something caustic about the other man, but the expression in Garcia's eyes stopped him. Nervousness was evident in her features and her gaze, but it lacked the anger he had expected to find there. He had thought she would be furious that Kevin had presumed to speak to Rossi about their relationship but instead she seemed … touched. A soft smile was now playing across her lips as her thoughts drifted to a man Morgan hadn't bothered to think about since the night Battle died. There was a light in Garcia's gaze, a spark of affection that he didn't remember seeing before.

"You really like him, don't you?" he asked, watching Penelope's face closely as she answered.

She smiled at him - brilliant, incredible, and heart breaking. "Yes," she said. "He's just – he's unlike any other guy I've ever dated. He was willing to talk to Rossi, with no thought for his own personal safety." She blushed and lowered her gaze, smoothing her hands across her lap. "He called me his girlfriend."

As those words passed her lips, Morgan felt as though his heart had broken. In the second it took for him to blink before replying it felt as though an eternity had gone by. There was a dull emptiness in his chest, coupled with the sharp realisation that he was too late. She wasn't his anymore. She never had been.

Forcing a smile, Morgan gazed down at the blonde computer expert. "He couldn't do better than you Garcia." He said.

His words were rewarded with another heart-stopping smile, and Derek found himself wishing he were anywhere other than here. With a quick goodbye, he left the office and disappeared down the hallway. He didn't stop until he reached an artificially lit atrium, lined with mirrors.

Staring at his reflection, Derek Morgan said what he had known since the moment JJ had started to sing. "I missed my chance."

* * *

**A/N: I dashed this off after watching Damaged just now. I personally am not a fan of the Garcia-Lynch pairing, but I thought to add a tortured moment from Garcia, where she admits to herself (alone) that she's chosen Kevin because Derek's unattainable, into this would just come across as too contrived. I didn't think it fitted the piece. Anyways, apologies for any spelling/grammatical errors and as always please critique and review. Thank you for reading.**


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